Sun 20 Questions: Alberta Ballet dancer Kelley McKinlay

Now in his 17th season with Alberta Ballet, Kelley grew up in Edmonton, training with Dance Alberta and The Banff Centre. He would subsequently perform with DanceArts Vancouver, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, and The Banff Centre’s Festival of Dance. In 2008, Kelley performed parts of Kirk Peterson’s Othello at the Benois de la Danse Awards Gala at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. In 2015, he was Guest Principal Artist in David Nixon’s Madame Butterfly with the Northern Ballet in the UK. Some of Kelley’s favourite Alberta Ballet repertoire includes Winter Room, Futureland, Iago in Othello, D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons.

It’s Sunday morning, what are you having for breakfast?

My amazing wife makes us eggs on toast.

If you didn’t do what you do for a living, what would you be?

Either a soccer player or firefighter

Who’s your hero?

I don’t have a specific hero. There are many people I know and have worked with that inspire me.

Last book you couldn’t put down

I have always been quite capable of putting books down.

Who was your childhood celebrity crush?

Maybe Claire Danes from Romeo & Juliet.

What’s playing in your iPod (CD, cassette or eight-track) right now?

I have 180 GB of music on my iPod so pretty much everything but Country. Some highlights are Smyl, Dean Lewis, and Lewis Capaldi.

If you could see one concert, what would it be?

I would want to go back to see a concert I already saw – Bon Iver at Sasquatch music festival in 2010.

What’s the best thing about Edmonton?

My family lives there. The restaurants aren’t too shabby either.

What’s your weirdest habit?

People know I’m around when they hear me clear my throat.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

When dancers don’t dance full out (or when they half ass it) all the time. Your career is too short to waste the time.

What’s your fast-food guilty pleasure?

When I was young it was chubby chicken sandwiches from A&W. I don’t eat fast food now or even remember the last time I had fast food.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

I don’t get embarrassed easily, I try to own everything I do

Which person, alive or dead, would you like to have dinner with?

I don’t really feel like having dinner with anyone specific, but I would like to have Lewis Hamilton drive me around every Formula 1 circuit.

What’s your favourite vacation destination?

Venice, Italy

What is your favourite TV show?

UK’s Sky Sports F1 feed of Formula 1.

What’s your dream car?

1955 Jaguar D-Type

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

To heal. That way I would never get injured doing my job.

What’s the one thing you haven’t done that you’d love to do?

Race cars

If we’re buying, you’re having…

An all-expenses paid trip to Monaco to watch the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix… oh wait did you mean dinner?

What are your words to live by?

Never mark anything… (which is dancer lingo for never half-ass anything. Give it your all).